Tag Archives: karate freestyle

Karate Freestyle over the Years!

Comparing Karate Over the Decades!

Hi guys and gals, 

I want to talk about the differences

between freestyle over the years.

But, first…

I am closing a few sites.

I’ll keep the monster up,

and a couple of others,

but I’ve got 7 or 8 websites that are going down.

Simply,

the webhoster is so incompetent,

and moving the sites and repairing them…

it’s just not worth it.

The KangDukWon.com website is gone.

If you are mid lesson, let me know.

And,

there is a bigger reason.

Advertising on Google is silly,

and I have found the best way to market my courses

is to change them into books on Amazon.

So I’ve got the How to Fix Karate books up there,

and The Shaolin Butterfly.

And I’ll have more,

but I’m making these changes

because the internet is changing.

And I will consider certificates for a couple of the courses.

The Matrix Karate course,

the Master Instructor course,

and a few others.

Okay,

Karate has degraded over the years.

Badly.

I do all arts,

but my base art is karate,

and this degrading of art is hurtful.

So this is what I want you to do.

Go to Youtube and find 1970 Karate.

That was when I learned,

and you can see hard techniques,

lots of good control,

and sportsmanship.

I knew a lot of the guys in this clip.

Then look for 1980s karate.

These guys are marginally better,

but they are dancing around more

(courtesy of Bruce)

and their control isn’t as good.

Then find

Old School Karate VS Modern Karate Tournaments

The music probably wasn’t needed,

it becomes a put down,

but the point is…

what happened?

Parents.

Children.

Politics.

Money.

protective gear.

Some other stuff, too.

Society has become drugged out,

education has become political indoctrination,

but I don’t really want to go into those things.

I want to discuss the big five.

Parents sign their children up to defend themselves,

but if there is an ‘owie,’

bang—those kids are gone.

I’ve taught classes to kids,

as soon as I get even the teensiest bit down and dirty,

the parents glare at me like I’m abusing their children.

Children.

If the kid goes home and complains that it’s too hard,

Bang—those kids are gone.

Parents have totally bought into the idea

that their little snowflake dumpling needs reassurance

and not hard work.

Politics.

People would rather talk than work out.

Whenever I had a talker I would focus on him till

he started working, or left.

I had no room in any of my schools for people 

who didn’t want to sweat.

Money.

To stay in business you need it.

But if you are lowering standards to keep people

you aren’t teaching karate.

Protective gear.

People think you need to hit harder,

or can hit harder,

so they give up learning control.

And control is CRUCIAL to the martial arts.

But people buy into protective gear because 

the school owners push it because

it makes them a profit

and they can stay in business

and lower their standards.

So,

what do you do?

Find a hard class that works hard.

Find the fellows that work the hardest and pair up with them.

Teach a hard class and take no prisoners.

I couldn’t believe it,

I was astounded,

I was actually shocked,

the first time a fellow stepped off the mat

so he could get a drink of water.

“But I was thirsty!” he explained.

And I said,

“In a real fight you’re going to stop everything

and get a drink of water because you’re thirsty?”

Want a real story of tough?

I was teaching a bunch of guys,

and my son was among them.

After some six months

Aaron complained of chest pain.

When I looked

he had an indentation on his sternum.

Somebody had actually punched a dent in his chest.

Doctor said to take a few weeks off,

it would heal.

I said, ‘Okay, you’re off for a few weeks.’

Aaron said, ‘No, I’m not.’

We argued and I put down the law.

I was a bit surprised when he showed up for class.

I said, 

“Get the F out.”

He said,

“You’re going to have to make me.”

Argh!

So I could have gotten physical

which would have caused damage,

or I could let him stay,

in which case he only ‘might’ get damaged.

So he stayed.

I was always proud of the fact

that he had the real spirit.

Willing to work

even to the point of injury,

and beyond.

Mind you,

I still don’t think he should have been in the class,

I believe in taking care of injuries,

but he was so tough

that I couldn’t stop him.

And that means he can’t be stopped in life.

Because the dojo is a microcosm.

It is a little life in which lessons are learned.

And when I watch these pattycake sessions

that people think are real Karate,

I feel so incredibly sad.

Okay,

obligatory ad…

Chiang Nan

here’s the page

Here’s a sample

CHIANG NAN

HAVE A GREAT WORK OUT!

Al

And don’t forget to check out the interview

https://anchor.fm/dale-gillilan/episodes/S1E10—Al-Case-e12e3np

BTW

I’ve got nothing but five star reviews on 

The Science of Government.

It’s really nothing more than applying matrixing to politics.

Matrixing + Politics = Sanity

I told you matrixing works with anything.

Here’s the link…

https://www.amazon.com/Science-Government-Fixing-world-government/dp/B09JRFSVVY/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1V6SI5F4EVGX2&keywords=the+science+of+government+al+case&qid=1638483302&sprefix=the+science+of+government%2Caps%2C173&sr=8-1

How to Fix Karate! (volumes one and two)

volume one is at

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B6L5DSD1?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

And volume two is at…

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0B6XVTB9V?ref_=pe_3052080_397514860

Was Old Time Karate Really Better?

Was It Really Better in the Old Days?

You always hear the term about ‘the good, old days.’ And, in the martial arts, this is really true. I always hear people thinking back to when men were men, and sheep were…you know.

But it is a legitimate question.

modern martial arts
On one hand, you have the great arts coming out of the orient. I was studying back in the sixties and seventies, so the main arts were judo and karate, with a smattering of Kung Fu. We studied in in dirty dojos and did manic drills. We brooked no nonsense, and we were patient with beginners.

On the other hand, you have designer water, contracts and classes in the Y, at the gym, down on the corner, and in every friend’s garage.

So, my personal opinion is that the martial arts were better. I started at a McDojo, then went to a classical korean Karate school (Kang Duk Won).

The McDojo was the state of art to come, with thick mats and air conditioning and tournament freestyle and contracts and good looking chickies.

The Kang Duk Won had a mat that had been ripped and stitched so many times it was like walking across Frankenstein’s face. The bag went to the cobbler’s every week. We packed out own bags for better texture and weight and resistance to our endless kicks. Warn’t no chickies allowed.

The McDojo had shiny trophies, high fives for points, and you pressed your gi before class.

The Kang Duk Won you did hundreds of kicks, you didn’t wash your gi, and you couldn’t press the clutch down because your shins were so badly bruised.

In modern times we have scientific achievements that enable one to get more strength in the muscle.

Of course, modern times has a lot of junk science and internet gimmicks, so…?

Now, it’s pretty obvious which way I am biased. I was there, I don’t think alzheimer’s has obscured my memories of those old work outs, and I have seen modern schools that teach 18 arts on their front sign, but are a jumble of bags and exercise equipment inside.

But, nobody made me God, and if you think otherwise, then go ahead and tear me a new one. Heck, I might even learn something!

And, if you are old school like me, then feel free to leave your memory. Heck, it might just become legend!

If you want to read more about old time martial arts and the Kang Duk Won, try KangDukWon.com!